Ole Miss baseball sees seven-run lead evaporate in another late-game collapse

The Ole Miss baseball team is finding different ways to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory at the most inopportune times but Thursday was one that might be the most shocking.

Taking on Missouri, the team Ole Miss was tied with at the bottom of the Southeastern Conference standings, this weekend was a prime chance to continue the little momentum gained from the series win over Georgia last weekend.

Instead what happened was the Rebels blowing a seven-run lead in the sixth inning and Missouri scoring nine unanswered runs from the sixth to the eight innings for the 11-9 comeback victory.

Up 9-2 heading to the bottom of the sixth inning the Tigers scored six off starter Xavier Rivas and reliever Riley Maddox before scoring a run in the seventh and then the go-ahead two-run home run in the home half of the eight inning.

What looked to be a game where Ole Miss was going to run away and hide from the Tigers and take the opening game in a crucial SEC series with SEC Tournament implications the bullpen made sure that did not happen.

“It’s hard to put into words anymore,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “To have a 9-2 lead on (Thursday) with your ace on the mound and another ace in the bullpen, to not finish it is obviously disappointing.”

Ole Miss (24-22, 5-17 SEC) got a strong outing from Rivas who went 5.1 innings and tied a career best eight strikeouts. He was tagged with four runs, all earned, off five hits. Sitting with a pitch count in the mid-80s Rivas went out to start the sixth inning but a leadoff home run by Missouri’s Luke Mann – and a one-out walk brought in Maddox.

Maddox made his second appearance of the season for Ole Miss but did not have same results as he did against Georgia.

Maddox gave up a triple and a single against the first two batters he faced before giving up a three-run home run coming off.

“I thought we got a really good effort from Xavier on a tough night to pitch, I think, with the wind gushing out to center,” Bianco said. “We bring in Maddox just because he’s our best strike thrower to try and let him mix his fastball, slider and change up and just buy us, hopefully, a couple innings. …We brought him in so we wouldn’t give up free base runners and they took advantage, got a lot of good swings off in a short period of time.”

Mason Nichols and Jack Dougherty were then brought in. Nichols, who has pitched in the last three games came out after throwing 30 pitches in an effort to save him for the weekend. Dougherty was then brought in and unable to keep the score tied, giving up the two-run home run.

A statement that has been made all season by Bianco has been that the offense will have a good night and the pitching will not or the offense will be cold and the pitching strong.

On Thursday it was more the bullpen not holding up its end of things after the offense had a good night, scoring nine runs off 10 hits and the good outing by Rivas. A recipe that spelled disaster for Ole Miss, who is all alone at the bottom of the SEC with eight games left.

The Rebels are now a game behind Missouri with two left this weekend and a game and a half behind Mississippi State, plus the tiebreaker, to get into the 12th spot and a Hoover berth.

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